Filmmakers hestitant to tackle tales from some books
It’s almost impossible for a movie to do justice to a great book.
Even if a movie adaptation captures the essence of a book (“The Sweet Hereafter,” say, or “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”), it still isn’t the book. Inevitably, things you loved about the book won’t make it into the movie.
Our relationships with books tend to be more personal than they are with movies, largely because books rely on our imaginations to create images in a way movies don’t. That may be why Hollywood has taken so long to get around to some much-loved books and why it will never get around to others.
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” currently a hit film, was made into a well-regarded TV miniseries in the ‘80s. But fans’ love of Douglas Adams’ books is so great – and the scope of the five-book series so vast – that moviemakers may have been too intimidated to take it on until now.
Trying to do justice to a book people worship is daunting, as these books (and possibly future movies?) indicate:
‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’
When we’ll see it: Christmas
What took so long: C.S. Lewis’ seven “Chronicles of Narnia” books, dating to the 1950s, have been made into TV movies, but to do them right would require costly special effects and a major commitment. A commitment like that turned “The Lord of the Rings” films into some of the biggest hits of all time, which is probably what persuaded Disney to pull the trigger on the first “Narnia” book.
They didn’t hire expensive stars – Tilda Swinton (“Constantine”) is the biggest name in the cast – and they’re calling it “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” both tipoffs that Disney envisions this as a “Rings”-style, blockbusting series.
‘A Confederacy of Dunces’
When we’ll see it: It’s not looking good.
What took so long: A variety of directors have attempted to get it off the ground, including, most recently, Steven Soderbergh and then David Gordon Green (“Undertow,” “All the Real Girls”). Drew Barrymore’s production company also attempted to get the movie made, with Will Ferrell mentioned for the leading role of a sardonic New Orleans man with a unique take on the world.
But script difficulty – specifically, trying to tell a story largely based on what goes on in one man’s head – has been a stumbling block.
‘The Moviegoer’
When we’ll see it: In the next few years?
What took so long: Like “A Confederacy of Dunces,” Walker Percy’s “The Moviegoer” is another Louisiana-set novel about a Southern man searching for life’s meaning, and, like “Confederacy,” a movie version has been talked about forever. Published in 1961, the novel still feels contemporary, but adapting it presents the same problem of “Confederacy”: Most of it takes place in the hero’s head.
Still, there’s hope. Terence Malick, who tends to let projects gestate before he embarks on them (“The Thin Red Line” was percolating for more than a decade before he filmed it), has talked about this one for at least a decade.
‘The Catcher in the Rye’
When we’ll see it: Never
What took so long: J.D. Salinger was writing “The Catcher in the Rye” when a movie version of his story, “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut” was released. Called “My Foolish Heart,” it starred Susan Hayward, and he hated it – which may be why “Catcher” hero Holden Caulfield is so contemptuous of his brother, who works in Hollywood.
The late Salinger decreed that no other movies should be based on his work, and his heirs appear to be resisting what would be a huge payday if they agreed to sell “Catcher.”